Earlier this year, my friend Caroline Starr Rose (who is the fantastic author of May B, Blue Birds, Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine, and several fascinating picture books) was kind enough to invite me onto her blog for an interview:
Alone in the Woods: An Interview with Author Rebecca Behrens
Check it out to hear about how being the world’s oldest living tween has helped me write authentic MG fiction, as well as my research and inspiration for the book!
I really love the book blog Pop! Goes the Reader. It’s beautifully designed and illustrated, and Jen’s coverage of MG/YA books is so inclusive, thoughtful, and creative. So I was thrilled to partner with her to discuss Alone in the Woods. Check out our conversation to learn more about the inspiration behind the book, including my love for Wisconsin wildlife, and how my personal experiences with a fractured friendship helped me write this story–along with my advice for any readers going through something similar.
And earlier this fall, Jen compiled a fantastic list of 25 MG and YA survival stories to give young readers hope. If you enjoyed Alone in the Woods and The Disaster Days, check out the list to find other adventurous books!
To say 2020 has been a challenging year for us all is definitely an understatement. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to write an article for Karen Jensen’s SLJ blog, Teen Librarian Toolbox, about resilience–one of the themes of my latest MG novel, Alone in the Woods:
Raising Superheroes: How Tough Times Create Resilient Kids
Check it out to learn more about real-life sisters who survived being lost in the woods, as well as tips to encourage resilience, preparation, and community engagement in your own family!
For each book I’ve released, I’ve spent time in my home state of Wisconsin, visiting schools and talking with young readers. And during every single Q&A, the same question has come up: Have you written any stories set in Wisconsin?
It took me years, and four other books, to find the right story, but now I can finally answer: Yes!
The Disaster Days has been making its way around the blogosphere and Bookstagram, and I’m so grateful to the reviewers, bloggers, and bookstagrammers who’ve taken the time to read and then write such thoughtful reviews!
“Really, really enjoyed this!” Ms. Yingling Reads
“This story was truly page-turning and exciting” Tara Creel Books
“I was enraptured enough by this book that I kept getting feelings of sorrow with each thing that happened to them. I wanted to reach into the book and, if nothing else, grab hold of them and let them know it was going to be okay.” Reading Authors
“Are you serious with this book?! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading” @TheSmileLines via KidLitExchange
“Rebecca Behrens’s The Disaster Days is a compelling and empowering middle-grade disaster story that will have readers on the edge of their seats and breathless!” Aeicha at Word Spelunking
“Readers who like adventure and wonder what it would be like to live/survive in an earthquake zone will be riveted to every page of Hannah’s story.” The Reading Tub
“Behrens does a great job drawing readers into experiencing the children’s feelings of fear and hopelessness. Each chapter has enough peril and nail biting angst to keep even the most reluctant reader eagerly reading to find out what will happen next to Hannah and her charges.” You Decide: Should I Read It Or Not?
“Very much recommended to anyone who loves kids surviving on their own stories!” Charlotte’s Library
“I really liked how Hannah develops as a character, making mistakes, but doing everything she can to care for herself and the younger children and a cute guinea pig.” Stephanie Tournas, Youth Services Book Review
“The writing was so well done…fun and fresh, and exciting.” The Pages In Between
“Though set in the Pacific Northwest this tense tale of post-earthquake survival is equally relevant to other areas where natural disasters are a constant threat, and may encourage middle grade readers to think and find out about their family and school disaster plans.” Bibliobrit
“This one is a definite must-read, must-have.” Mom Read It
“It’s The Babysitter’s Club meets Hatchet! Enough said.” Miss Print
Check out the amazing emergency kit video from Bookstagrammer @RidaPageTurner!
“Suspenseful reading for students and adults alike!” Ms_D_Reads
“I loved this book and had a hard time putting it down.” The Librarian Is On the Loose
A few weeks ago*, the awesome website YAYOMG! helped me share the cover for The Disaster Days–and an exclusive sneak peek into the book.
Be sure to check out all of YAYOMG!’s great book coverage–tons of interviews, posts, cover reveals, roundups, and more!
I also got a special delivery from my editor at Sourcebooks: ARCs!
I’m so excited for this story to head out into the reading world.
*Er, why am I sharing this just now? I have a book due on May 1, and I’ve been in my writing cave. 🙂
Thanks to Goodreads (which I tend to use as a booklog, pretty much just for this purpose), I’m taking a look back at my reading stats for 2018:
These books took me from Cameroon to Moscow to Fiji to Antarctica to Topsea, and from Ancient Greece to outer space. (Can I get airline miles for this?!)
In terms of category, I read 18 middle grade books, 4 YA, 4 nonfiction, and the rest were adult fiction. And I seem to have a thing for blue covers.
In 2019, I’m switching from reading goals to a reading thesis: read to discover, read diversely, read without time pressure, read joyfully. I’m debating whether to keep tracking online–it is handy for the year-end page and book count (although I cannot figure out why Goodreads insists these 59 books are 60), but it also adds a little pressure to add, add, add books. We’ll see what I decide . . .
What were your favorite books of the year, and what do you hope to read in 2019?
I’ve been busy talking up Bea and Pidge’s grand adventure with fellow book lovers and Amelia enthusiasts online. Here are a few interviews to check out if you’d like to know more about the story and why I wrote it:
Episode 34 of the “Chasing Earhart” Podcast
Interview with MG Book Village
Interview and Fun Facts with YAYOMG!
Straight from the Source: A conversation with Caroline Starr Rose
And here are a few reviews from early and speedy readers!
“Rebecca Behrens writes a touching and heartwarming story chronicling Bea and Pidge’s journey to not only find “Meelie” but also find themselves.” —Beagles and Books
“This is just one of those stories that I did not want to end. The messages it delivers will fill readers with hope – hope for family, believing in the impossible, and finding our true adventurous spirit. The story and characters will stay with readers long after the book is done.” —Zone 114: The Next Chapter
“The Last Grand Adventure transports family drama into an interesting and vibrant time period and shows us that while fashions, types of travel, and acceptable breakfasts (sugar sandwiches!) have changed over the last 50 years, family ties have not.” –Ms. Yingling, YA Books Central
Thanks for reading!
Every year, I keep a reading log in my planner–and on Goodreads, mainly because that way I can easily collect images of the covers and get a tabulation of my pages read (and other fun stats) at the end of the year, such as:
Fewer pages than in previous years, which surprised me–until I remembered that this is the first year I haven’t had a commute in a long time. Public transportation is a great opportunity to read a book! Here are the titles that I enjoyed in 2017:
(Look at those covers. Can you tell that I’m drawn to stories that involve the sea?)
By my count, 30 adult fiction titles, 17 MG, 4 YA, and 7 nonfiction–I traded some YA for nonfiction apparently.
In 2018, I’m going to try to stay away from reading goals and challenges–other than to make sure I’m reading books by and about people whose life experiences are different than mine and that I’m supporting authors from marginalized communities. So I guess you could say my goal for the new reading year is to focus on the books and the pleasure of time spent reading. 🙂
Usually, I’m an ant. I like having to-do lists and schedules, deadlines and goals, and I’m at my happiest when I’m working as much as playing, or maybe even a little more.
But not in August. As the fable goes, there’s a time for work and a time for play, and August is the time for play. The days are still long, most emails are met with out-of-office replies, and the late-summer heat is so perfect for strolling. Or lounging. Or swimming. Or reading. Or ice-cream-cone-licking. But not for typing. (I once had a wooden desk chair and an apartment without air-conditioning, and while I was stuck at my computer revising a book during a heat wave, I hydroplaned off my seat. True story.)
I feel a little guilty being a grasshopper right now. I’m looking forward to being an ant again, in just a few weeks. But for now, I’m going to embrace the season of play. I’ll be “making music” till Labor Day. After all, what a writer needs most is rich experiences, so in my own way I’m storing up food for winter.
(To see my grasshopper days, find me on Instagram!)
I’m so excited to share the cover for my next middle-grade novel that I’m skipping an introduction. Here it is!
Robyn Ng illustrated it, and Laura Lyn DiSiena designed it–the same team that created the beautiful cover for Summer of Lost and Found. And again they perfectly capture the spirit and setting of my book. I love the vintage font (perfect for historical fiction) and the sunset color palette, and the way my characters, Bea and Pidge, are facing out toward the great wide world.
Before I tell you all about The Last Grand Adventure, here’s information on how you can win an ARC and find out (early!) for yourself:
Simply leave a comment on this post to enter–if you’d like an extra entry, you can sign up for my newsletter or tweet about the cover. Full instructions and links below.
About The Last Grand Adventure:
Twelve-year-old Bea finds herself on a unique road-trip with her grandmother as they search for her grandmother’s long-lost sister—the legendary Amelia Earhart—in this charming and poignant novel from the author of When Audrey Met Alice and Summer of Lost and Found.
It’s 1967 and twelve-year-old Bea is in need of some adventure. Her mother is off in San Francisco, while her father has just gotten remarried in Los Angeles. Bea has gained a younger stepsister, and she’s not thrilled about her blended family. So when her ailing grandmother, Pidge, moves to an Orange County retirement community and asks if Bea would spend a few weeks helping her get settled, Bea is happy for any excuse to get away.
But it turns out, her grandmother isn’t interested in settling in. What she really wants is to hop a train back to Atchison, Kansas—where she thinks she’ll be reunited with her long-missing sister: Amelia Earhart. And she wants Bea to be her sidekick on this secret trip.
At first, Bea thinks her grandmother’s plan is a little crazy. But Pidge has thirty years of letters written in “Meelie’s” unmistakable voice, all promising to reunite. This might be the adventure Bea needs . . .
With letters in hand, Bea and Pidge set off on their quest to find Amelia. But getting halfway across the country proves to be more of an adventure than either of them bargained for. And their search for Amelia leads to some surprising truths about their family—and each other.
Early Praise
The Details
Coming from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin on March 20, 2018
Historical fiction for ages 8+
ISBN: 9781481496926
Preorder from:
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound
Amazon
Books-a-Million
or your local bookstore (the ISBN is 9781481496926)
And you can add The Last Grand Adventure to your shelves on Goodreads.
ARC Giveaway Instructions (the long version):
To enter to win an ARC, simply leave a comment on this post. Don’t worry if it doesn’t appear right away–my site requires approval for all comments. If you’d like an extra entry, you can sign up for my newsletter or tweet about this cover reveal. Make sure to let me know in your comment if you did one or both of those! This giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada, and will end on Wednesday, June 28. I’ll announce the winner, chosen randomly, on Thursday, June 29. Good luck, and thanks for entering!
Update: Congrats to Kaitlin Hundscheid, who won the ARC–I’ll send you an email shortly. And thanks, all, for the cover love!
Summer is my favorite reading season.* Both in terms of the places you can read (beach, pool, park, hammock, tent, etc.) and the tradition of reading for pleasure. Deep in winter, I start a list of the books I’d like to read once it’s warm and sunny and slower-paced.
Here are some of the titles I’m looking forward to savoring this summer:
Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine
What’s on your reading list?
*For more on why, I blogged about my summers of book love at the Nerdy Book Club site.